Wow! It’s a house! What a surprise!

The emblems of Lutfur Rahman’s political groupings – never formally political parties due to their non-compliance with electoral law – all bear a striking similarity to each other.

It took us a while to work it out but we got there in the end.

The logo for the ‘Aspire’ party seems to have been cunningly designed to bear more than a passing similarity to logos of other failed political groups led by Lutfur Rahman.

Obvious question – why use the house symbol all the time?

Simple answer. The house symbol means Lutfur Rahman.

The name used – Aspire, Independent Group, Tower Hamlets Together, Tower Hamlets First – is irrelevant.

The icon says everything.

Want to comment on Aspire?

If you wish to make comments on the application to register ‘Aspire’ as a political party you must do so by 10:00 am on Thursday, 18 January 2018. Any comments made after that time may not be taken into account in the Commission’s decision on the application. You can submit your comments to the Electoral Commission here.

Ye are Many!

Those who need some light relief are recommended to consider the proposed descriptions for the ‘Aspire’ party that the Election Petition has published.

We think number 11 is inspired. Or should that be aspired? Perspired? Whatever.

Proposed name: Aspire

Proposed descriptions:

Hope | Ambition | Delivery

Progress | Fairness | United Tower Hamlets

We Can Together

Aspiration for All

Your Anti-Austerity Candidate

Progressive Alliance

Hope for All

Grassroots Movement

Hope | Progress | One Tower Hamlets

Stronger Together

Ye are Many / You are Many

The Anti-Austerity Party

Ye are Many? Seriously? Who dreams this nonsense up?

LW will be publishing some other possible potential descriptions during the week.

‘We Can-Can Tower Hamlets’ has been claimed by the Wapping Mole so don’t bother suggesting it.

LW Comment

Nobody with any understanding of local politics in Tower Hamlets should be surprised by the latest political tactic by Lutfur Rahman.

The naive may even be wondering how a man who was found guilty of electoral malfeasance and corruption by an election court in 2015 and banned from standing for elected office for five years can have anything to do with the local and mayoral elections in May 2018?

The answer is simple.

Lutfur Rahman has no regard for the law.

The above recent photograph shows many of Lutfur Rahman’s candidates for the local and mayoral elections.

Front and centre is Cllr. Ohid Ahmed.

Notionally Ohid Ahmed is the mayoral candidate for his ‘Independent Group’ of candidates – which is in reality Tower Hamlets First (THF). (The name change was forced upon THF by the electoral petition judgement.)

In reality Lutfur Rahman is the mayoral candidate and Ohid Ahmed his proxy.

“Lutfur Rahman is our mayor and Ohid is his candidate”

LW understands that Independent Group / Tower Hamlets First canvassers say to residents that “Lutfur Rahman is our mayor and Ohid is his candidate”.

Yes, you read that right. Rahman = mayor, Ohid = Raman’s candidate.

If Ohid Ahmed wins the mayoral election in May and becomes the next executive mayor of Tower Hamlets do not think for one moment that he will actually be the mayor.

Lutfur Rahman will be in charge of the borough.

If this happens Rahman will no doubt have a good laugh at those who do obey the law as he and his political group take up exactly where they left off in 2015.

Think this cannot happen?

Ah, you would do well remember this is Tower Hamlets. Anything can happen and usually does.